Returning
by ThePez
Summary: How will he react? Will he even remember me? I doubt it - its been so many years since we met...


**Disclaimer:** I do _NOT_ own Naruto in any way, shape, or form! I do [or I think I do], however, own the OC character Erix.

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**My Real Life Fairytale**

I sighed for at least the hundredth time during the flight. I stared out the window, not noticing the lush greenery that slowly flew by. _How will he react? Will he even remember me? I doubt it - its been so many years since we met..._ I went on until Asuma's voice pierced through my reverie.

"Come one, Erix! Say something! This silence is killing me!" He exclaimed, throwing his head back onto his seat.

"Oh, sorry, Asuma. I was just remembering how beautiful Konoha is," I lied. "I'm sorry that you had to come all the way to America just to get me. I shouldn't have taken advantage of your owing me so much. I swear to you that I am forever in your debt!" I joked, trying to forget what was to come.

"Ah, don't mention it. It feels good not having to look forward to guarding anything for a few more hours," he replied to my sincere tone. "Besides, Kurenai could do good with a few hour's more work. Also, if it gets Kakashi off my back, I'm happy to do it. Oh, and by the way, I kinda told him I was going to pick you up. - Well, I didn't exactly say it was you, I just said I was going to escort an old friend back to Konoha," he quickly added, noticing my surprised reaction.

I scowled at him and turned my attention back to the window to my left. The next thing I knew, I was being shaking gently by the shoulder by Asuma. I must have fallen asleep. "How long was I out?" I asked wearily.

"Only about four hours. You must have been tired. I would've fallen asleep myself if it hadn't been for Iruka telling me that we're going to land in a few minutes. I figured that I might wanna wake you up. He's sure to be there as part of the welcome home crew," he laughed, fastening his seat belt. "Man, I can't wait to see his face when he see's that it was you that I trecked that far for."

I rolled my eyes at him and buckled up. Once we were safely on the ground, I unbuckled and smoothed out the wrinkles in my forest green cami, then dug for my black, mid-calf length duster. When I found it, I pulled it on and tied the string that held it closed. I got my bags and walked out into the evening sun. A gust of strong wind blew my waist-length blond hair into my face, forcing me to turn my shoulder to it. I set a bag down and put a lock behind my ear and looked forward again. I looked desperately around at the few people who were to escort us back into the village, but he was nowhere to be seen. I picked up the bag and followed Asuma into the building and through the crowds of families waiting for loved ones to get off the plane. We got a wagon - although I was the only one inside it due to the others being escorts - and took the hour-long journey to the village.

About twenty minutes after leaving the airport, I found myself checking my cellphone for service. I snapped it shut and closed my eyes. _Why would there be any cellphone service here? I don't even think anyone here's even heard of a cellphone! Oh well. It'll be good for me to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life..._ I leaned my head back and drifted into a light slumber, so light, in fact, that I could feel the roughness of the road and hear Asuma, Kurenai, and the others passing the time away telling stories and singing. When I felt the wagon stop, I woke and peered out the window. We had stopped at the gates and were preparing to enter the place I once called home for a single summer.

We passed through the gates and found a hotel for me to stay at while I was there. I was left alone to unpack while Asuma and Kurenai went to break the news to Kakashi. I finished sooner than I had expected and found myself just staring around the room. I decided to have a look around town and shoved my bags under the bed. I walked around town saying hello to old friends and aquaintances.

I bought a shish kabob and sat down on a bench in the middle of an almost empty square. It was only myself, a few children playing ball, and a few shopkeepers closing up for the night. I wrapped an arm around my middle and rested my head in the fist of my other hand. I sighed. "Who am I kidding? He'll never remember me.."

"Who won't remember you?" asked a voice from behind me.

I spun around so quickly that I got dizzy. After a moment I finally realized who was talking to me do to his windblown grey hair and mostly masked face. "K-Kakashi! I-I didn't se you there, hehe." I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment.

He seemed to ignore my last comment and looked at me with an expression that was near impossible to decipher. "So, what Asuma and Kurenai told me was true, then. You're Erix Adams, am I right?" He sat down next to me and I blushed slightly. I was glad for the orang haze that came with the setting sun, and angry at myself for blushing like a school girl when I was a twenty-seven year old woman.

"Y-yes, that's right," I stuttered. "I'm Erix Adams. Don't tell me you've forgotten me," I joked. The street was empty now, except for the two of us. I looked away, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't see my embarrassment, when I felt something rest on my shoulder.

"No... I haven't forgotten you..." He had laid his forehead on my shoulder and breathed out deeply. "You're the one that stood up to me way back then, during a festival. Those words lingered in my head long after you ran off to your apartment and left the village."

I turned even redder and leaned the side of my head on his. "Well, I told you I wouldn't come back until you were more mature. Looks like I came back and you _are_ more mature," I said laughing a little. There was a silence afterwards that would've made even the most silent person insane. "I-I heard about what happened to your eye... I'm terribly sorry about that..." I straightened up and looked down at my black dress pants and matching flats. I suddenly felt out of place.

"Don't worry about it. Things like that tend to happen in this field of work." He straightened up too and looked up at the darkening sky. "It's getting late. You should be getting some sleep. How about I walk you to your apartment?" He got up and held out his hand in a small bow.

I smiled and tried not to laugh too much. "I think that's an excellent idea," I said taking the offered hand and standing up. He didn't release his hold on my hand as we walked. We talked and laughed about old times and who's been doing what where, even though the conversation was sparse.

When we got to my door I separated our hands and was just about to put the key in the lock when he wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his forehead on my shoulder once again. "I've missed you," he whispered so low I could barely make it out. I almost forgot how to breathe before I turned even redder than I was before. I fumbled with the key and finally managed to get it into the lock and turn it. I walked in, half-hoping that he would let go and leave, but he didn't. He kept his arms around my waist and walked with me as I crossed the threshold.

I put the key back in my pocket and gently moved his arms apart so I could get my duster off. Once that job was done, I went to change into something less formal and ended up choosing a pair of bootcut jeans and wearing the same cami. I walked out of the bathroom and let out a gasp of fright. He was still there, now leaning against the wall by the door. "What? Making sure I don't make another run for it? Trust me, I'm going to be here for a few days, not a few hours." I walked over to the dresser and picked up a hairclip. I put my hair up messily and shook my head in order to make sure it was comfortable enough.

"You always do that, don't you?" Kakashi asked coming over and sitting on the side of the bed.

"Yeah. There's nothing wrong with it. If you had hair as long as mine, you'd want to make sure you're comfortable however you put it up," I replied shaking my head once more then sitting indian-style on the bed facing him. "Don't you ever take that mask of yours off?"

He looked at me. "Sure I do. I take it off every time I go to bed for the night. Then I put it back on when I wake up and have breakfast."

"How about any othe -" He moved so fast that I barely noticed him move at all. He was ontop of me with his arms on the bed on either side of me and his lips on mine, no mask in the mix. It took me a moment to gather myself, then I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck. _Why am I kissing him back?! I shouldn't be doing this! _I let my mind wander anywhere but beyond its previous statement as we kissed more passionately. Just moments after I was gently forced backwards onto the pillow, and to my dismay, my cellphone chimed that familiar tune of _When The Saints Come Marching In_, signaling that I had received a text message. The sound came so suddenly that it startled us both and we broke the kiss."Well, well. It seems I do get service here after all." I reached for the cellphone that I had left on charge on the side table and checked the message while Kakashi laid beside me and ran a hand up and down my arm. 'Where R U? & What R U doing?' it read. I quickly replied with, 'Call me. I have service here,' and waited for my best friend since my first year of college to call. When she did, I sat up. "Hey, Karen."

"Hey my butt! What happened? Why didn't you call or text me?!"

"I got caught up with something." I looked at Kakashi. He didn't look so old when he had his mask off. Instead, he looked almost as young as he was when we first met and he gave me that same, tantalizingly dazzling smile.

"Oh yeah? What was it?" I could tell that she didn't believe me one bit.

"Well... I was just catching up with an old friend." I smiled.

"Oh." And this time she actually seemed to believe me. "Well? Should I ask who this old friend is? Or will I have to come see for myself?"

"You shouldn't go and do something _that_ drastic. He's just an old friend that I knew when I came here when I was a kid."

"Ugh, fine then; don't tell me. Anyways! How was the flight? Tell me _everything_!"

"Karen! I'm a bit busy right now," I whispered into the phone.

"No, it's alright. I should be going aways," Kakashi said getting up and slipping his mask back into place. I started to say something but thought better of it. "Same place tomorrow?"

"Uh, um, sure," I stuttered, ignoring Karen chewing me out from the other end of the receiver. With that he left me alone in my hotel room with nothing to keep my mind off of my actions earlier.

"Erix? Erix?! What just happened? Who was that? Was it that old friend of yours?" She was always the talkative type and one who was easy to confide in. So, I decided to tell her everything about my day - even the kiss.

After I had finished explaining and answering her insane questions, I decided to say goodbye and get some sleep. I hung up and plopped onto the bed. I grabbed a pillow, put it ocer my face, and screamed through it and gritted teeth. "Why did I have to kiss him back? Why couldn't I have just shoved him away and threw him out the door?! It should have been as easy as that!" I continued to accuse myself until I grew tired enough to sleep. When I did get to sleep, it was amazingly dreamless.

I woke to the buzzing of my alarm clock and started out the day with a hot shower. When I was dressed, I met Asuma and Kurenai for breakfast. After that, I left them to go explore the village some more befor I was caught by Kakashi. I passed by paths to training grounds and I passed by several shops, including a small flowershop that I took the oppertunity to look at the beautiful bouquet arrangements through the window. I also found a bookshop. I went in and it had that homey, warm feel to it as I browsed the shelves. In the romance section I found a few books written by one of the legendary sannins, Jiraiya. I shook my head at some of the words I found in them as I flipped through the pages. I put the last one back on the shelf and went on to the other sections. I found a few books that were to my liking and I purchased them. After I left the bookshop, I went to a resturaunt and got a soda before going to my demise that was the square I new I would eventually find Kakashi in. When I got there, I looked around for him. No sign of him yet. I sat down on the same bench as last night and took another sip of my soda and began to read one of the books I had bought.

I was well into the fifth chapter before I heard someone say Kakashi's name. "Aw, c'mon, Kakashi-sensei! Why can't you teach us that technique today?" i looked up and saw a blond haired boy walking backwards with his arms behind his head along with a darker ahired boy and a pink haired girl all walking aroound Kakashi. That must be his team that he had told me about.

"Because, Naruto, we've trained enough today and I have far too much to do that I absolutely have to get done today. maybe next tomorrow or next week."

"Next week?! What could be more important than training?!"

"Naruto, give it a rest. It'll be good for us to have some time off before we learn more hard jutsu." It was the pink haired girl speaking now.

"Aw, not you too, Sakura! How about you, Sasuke? You goona side with them, too?" naruto complained and turned to the darker haired boy.

"Naruto, they have a good point. You don't want to strain yourself too much or you'll just end up hurting yourself in bttle anyways." Sasuke shrugged and took on a bored appearance.

"Alright, everyone, go on and argue elsewhere. I need to be going," Kakashi said looking at his watch and walking passed them, looking in my direction.

I smiled and shook my head slightly at his abruptness. I put my book back into its bag and got up and walked back towards my hotel, daring him to follow me. I knew that he was close behind me when some people looked curiously in my direction as I closed the distance to the hotel. I could also hear three pairs of walking feet - one sounding almost as if being dragged along - somewhere not far behind. I got to the hotel and went to my room, not looking back to see if he was actually there. I put my coat on the dresser and felt him rest his chin on my shoulder. I looked at him. "I missed you too. I also think that I heard that team of yours following you."

"Yes, I heard them, too. They can be quite irritating at times," he said wrapping his arms around me and began slowly rocking from side to side.

I put my hands on his and leaned my head back. "You're intent on rekindling this relationship, aren't you?"

"Whoever said that?"

"You're starting to be an open book, Kakashi. You'd better close your cover before someone has a chance to rip your pages out."

"You and your comparisons," he said with a slight chuckle. There was a short silence following before he spoke again. "Why don't you just come stay with me instead of wasting your money on a hotel room?"

"Hey, no one said anything would be easy, for you, or for me." I turned around in his arms and rested my head on his chest. "Besides, wouldn't your team get too curious and bug you about why there's a stranger staying with you?" I accused with a chuckle.

"They can live with not being answered. It won't kill them. Please?"

"You're not giving up, are you?"

"Nope."

"Ugh, fine. You win this round Kakashi Hatake, but I _will_ get you next time." I slipped out of his arms. "Help me, will you? I'll start packing, but can you go to the front desk and tell them that I'm no longer staying here?"

"Sure," he said, and then he left.

I began packing and decided to call karen. She picked up almost immediately, as if she was right next to the phone. "Hey, Karen. I just called to tell you that I'm not staying at the hotel anymore," I said before she could start her babbling.

"What?! Why not?"

"It's getting too expensive... And Kakashi's offered to let me stay with him."

"Kakashi? You mean your boyfriend?" she teased. She began chanting several chants that I hated dearly.

"Karen! Stop it!" I had to raise my voice so that I could be heard. "Stop it, Karen, or you can forget about coming here in a few days." At that, she shut up.

"Really? I can come see you?" She's wanted to come to Konoha ever since I told her about it one dreary day.

"If you stop doing that, then yes. I'm sure I can get someone to bring you here." The door opened and Kakashi came in.

"You are officially checked out," he stated, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms casually.

"Hey, don't go getting too comfortable. You've gotta help me pack." I tossed him a duffle bag, which he caught easily before beginning to pack.

"He's ther, isn't he?" Karen's voice sounded teasingly annoying.

"Yes, he is. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go. Bye, Karen." I hung up and put the phone in my pocket. We finished packing and left the hotel. We walked just a few blocks and came to a stop in front of his house. I knew it was his becuase he had lived there when we had first met.

As we walked through the house, I kept being bombarded by curious dogs and he had to keep shooing them away. The building consisted of two bedrooms (fortunately), one bathroom, and a kitchen and living room area. He left me to unpack while he saw to some matters concerning the rest of his day.

After I had finished unpacking for the second time that week, I fell back and just lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. _Am I still questioning my own sanity for coming here? Ugh, I need to stop thinking about that kind of stuff. What's done is done._ I sat up again and looked around the room. It was a plain room with a single window and all the usual bedroom furnishings. I sighed and stood. I left the room and found him in the living room sitting at a desk tucked away in a corner. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "You're contagious," I stated, then I kissed him on the cheek.

He leaned back in the chair and looked at me. "Oh really? How contagious am I?"

"Very," I said in mocking annoyance and tightened my grip, pretending to choke him with my arms. We both laughed and then a realization hit me. "Hey, where are your dogs?"

"Oh they're probably running around the village," he replied leaning his head against mine. "Hmh. I thought you didn't like to show affection?"

"And thus the 'you're contagious' statement. I'm just tired of having to keep myself in check all the time. I'm letting myself become emotionally attached or dettached to anyone I meet."

"You're going to get killed that way." He swiveled the chair around and put his arms around my upper back.

"Well, I don't think you're trying to kill me just yet, and I don't intend on staying here long enough to get killed. I'll be heading back to America at the end of the summer to work on finishing up my last year of college. Not to mention that, if I do stay, I would have to go back anyways to quit my job and say goodbye to everyone."

He sighed. "True." He stood up and tightened his grip, forcing me to take a step closer into his embrace. He removed a hand from my back and tucked a lock of my hair back into place. He rested the hand on my cheek. Then after a moment, he slowly moved it to the back of my neck while moving his other hand to the small of my back. Like in the hotel the night before - and just as fast - his lips met mine. Again, it took me a moment to gather myself. Once I had, I kissed him back, again. Our bodies pressed together as our kissing once again became more somehow found our way to the sofa. I fell back onto it and lay there with Kakashi straddled ontop of me. And somehow, again, he manageged to take everything off of his top half until he was wearing nothing but his undershirt, which had his mask attached to it. As for me, I was down to the white lace cami that I was wearing under my ivory turtleneck.

At that point, there was a knock at the door. We ended the session and he laid his forehead on my shoulder. "What's with the interuptions?" He got up, put his mask on, and went into the hall to answer the door.

I barely managed to hold on to the subjects of the conversation. It was Shikaku Nara who was at the door; I would know that voice anywhere. He first asked Kakashi why he was half out of uniform, then, when Kakashi answered saying something about the heat, told him that he would have to go on duty for a few hours until one of the others got back from a mission.

Kakashi agreed and left for "work" after he had gotten dressed, leaving me with nothing to do but lay there on the sofa and stare at the ceiling. After a few moments, I got up and went to find the bag I had stuffed the books I had bought earlier. Once I had, I returned to the sofa and got comfortable so I could read.

After a few hours of reading, I heard the door open then shut and Kakashi came in from the hallway. "Welcome back," I said with a smile. I sat the book aside and cuddled against him as he sat down next to me and put his arms around me.

"Good to be back," he chuckled. He noticed that my sweater was still on the floor and looked down at me, as I had leaned my head back on his collarbone. "You didn't put your sweater back on." He sounded almost accusing.

"To be honest, I forgot about it in all my boredom. Besides, even if I hadn't, I would've been too lazy to put it back on," I pouted. He gently ran a finger up and down the contours of my spine, making me a little bit sleepy. I was already starting to feel like a little kid on Santa's lap in the position I was in in his arms. Then the feeling took a totally different turn as I remembered what happened a few hours ago. I blushed a little at the thoughts that had come into my head without my permission.

He was still looking at me when he spoke. "What thoughts are running through your thick skull to make you look like that?" he inquiried with a little bit of mocking in his voice.

I turned scarlet. "N-Nothing really... Just remembering what happened a few hours ago..." Then I got a handful of courage from who knew where. "Ya know... Third time's the charm." I smiled a little mischeivously and placed a hand on his chest. I could see that what I considered a poor attempt at flirting was working from the look in his eye that he desperately tried to hide.

"Oh really?" he stated, apparently giving in after moment of silence. He had stopped running his finger up and down my spine.

"Yeah, haven't you heard?" I said as I risked furthering my flirtations. I moved to where I had my knees on the sofa on either side of his thighs, one arm around his neck, and the other, the one that I had laid on his chest, moving slowly down his chest. Then, suddenly, he must have let some control slip through the dam, causing a flood. He was ontop of me again and we were continuing our session from before. He had his vest and both of our shirts off in record time and we took off from there as the sun set.

I awoke as the sun was rising and the light shone through the window. We'd managed to make our way to one of the bedrooms and, as I could see now with the light, appeared to be my room. I slowly pivoted my torso around to just where I could see that he was still asleep. I smiled and, much more slowly, got out of bed and tiptoed my way to the dresser, where I got a pair of jeans and another cami. I got dressed in the bathroom once I had showered. After that, I went into the kitchen and decided to make myself some eggs and pancakes. I was at the dining table eating my breakfast when I glanced around the room and saw the clock. Forty-three after eight. If I remembered correctly, Kakashi was supposed to be at 'work' by eight o'clock sharp. I figured that pretty soon someone would be knocking at the door. I shrugged it off and finished eating and was washing my dishes when I heard a knock at the door. It was then, as I froze in place, that I started worrying about who would answer the door, what with Kakashi zonked out in my bed. I knew from when we were kids that he didn't worry about theives and left the door unlocked.

They knocked again. I was surprised he didn't hear it because of how hard they were banging on the door. I took a deep breath and leaned my hands against the counter and and hung my head. I decided to wait until the person either went away, or came in. The knocking went away. I didn't realized that I was holding my breath until I breathed out heavily. _What the hell am I thinking? I shouldn't be here. I should have been out of here the hour I got here!_ I sighed out of frustration and ran a hand through my still-wet hair. I looked up and sighed again. "Pull yourself together, Erix. What's done is done. There's nothing you can do about it," I said to myself. I stood straight and turned arout to face the rest of the kitchen. I looked around again and decided to call Karen; I needed someone to talk to and I didn't want to wake Kakashi.

I used his house phone so I wouldn't waste my minutes on my probably already dead cellphone. After the third ring, she picked up. "Hello? Karen speaking," she said.

"Hey, Kare, it's me," I replied sitting down on the cool tile of the kitchen floor. I was glad for the cordless phone.

"Oh! Hey Ere! What's up?"

"A lot of things and I'm not sure what to do. I need someone to talk to."

"To talk to? What for? Either way, I'm all ears, girl. Spill to your heart's content."

"Thanks. I have no idea what I'm going to do... After what happened last night... I-I'm not sure if I can leave or not. I don't think I can, Kare, I don't think I can." I was nearly pleading by the time I had finished speaking. I buried my face in my knees and wrapped my arms around them, holding the phone on my shoulder.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. What? What do you mean 'after what happened last night'?! What _did_ happen...?" When I didn't answer, she let out a huge sigh and spoke, sounding like a teenage girl who had just heard that her best friend did something that she shouldn't have. "Oh my god, Ere, you didn't! Please tell me you didn't!" I still didn't answer while she went on a rampage over the phone about things I didn't understand. I could hear her pacing and rolled my eyes.

"Are you done fussing over something you shouldn't be fussing about?" I finally said, interrupting her.

"No! Of course I'm not! You barely know the guy and - "

I know him better than most people around here, Karen Anne." She didn't argue. We both knew that we were serious when we used each other's middle names. I decided to put the conversation behind us. Kare, you'd better be packing, because we're coming to get you later today." After that, she began going crazy over what to bring as if our previous conversation never happened. Once that was over, I went to go get my cellphone, very quietly, out of my room.

I was digging through the pockets of my duster when I felt like I ws being watched. I looked up and jumped when I saw him sitting up and watching me. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know I was being so loud," I stuttered.

"Eh, it's alright. I should have been up a long time ago," he said getting out of bed and pulling on a pair of baggy navy blue pants and his undershirt.

"I-I kind of told Karen that I would be going to get her from America today," I said quietly, not sure what his reaction would be. He surprised me.

"Alright, _we'll_ go get her. I'm sure I can get the rest of the week off with faking sick." He chuckled slightly at the last few words.

I hid a smile and rolled my eyes. "I knew I never should have came back. You haven't changed one bit, you lazy bean!" I grabbed one of my empty bags for protection as he hurled himself at me and began trying to tickle me. "No! Stop! Stop it!" I laughed, hitting him with the duffle.

Eventually, we got dressed for the day and made our way to the air port for something I was completely dreading; my best friend meeting my, technically, boyfriend. The feeling was almost as bad as having him meet my father, and that would have been utter chaos...


End file.
